Folder 074 — Margaret Eaton School Pictures, Emma Scott Raff Nasmith Papers — Margaret Eaton School Toronto 1901-1942

5 PIMM?

1 j ^ f lr iMh Ora-

The Associate W^er^^
R aret Eaton School of ' evenln g »
Expression apP^* Uiree playlets:
fhe Greek Theatre .n ^ Risin g

-Hyacinth Halve* Greg ory.

of ^e M.; ; ,J; in ;. a play •» °£
-Kathleen Ni w ° l ,, er Teats, r nes
act hy dramas .-.eh

presentations ^ have made bo
the Associate Particular value as
nterestins are of .^ acquainted wW
fn.eans of **h?L % I

tance , a rnr til" peIiS

^i^rlNIA GIRL attend-
A W BST ^ IR ^ for the wrong
college r ^; ea other clay. That
> T students painted her
nothing like a ladies

:0 -i — Was gtvcx
6 ITlUo^ ^^^^^^^^B

L RY 9, 1921.

football tea
night he
red. Th

t

It seems to me that but scant notice
was given in the daily press of the
rendering of Yeats' beautiful little
tragic plays, "The Land of Heart's De-
sire" and "Cathleen Ni Hollihan, by
Mrs. Scott Raff and her goodly com-
pany of the Margaret Eaton School of
Expression. You would have to be
"rale" Irish and well-versed In the
tragic history of Ireland to understand
much less appreciate the exquisite
work of Yeats. Especially is "Cathleen
Ni Hoolihan" touching in its spir-
ituality and tenderness. What alien
audience could understand the Poor
Old Woman's plaint of her many lov-
ers who had died for love of her?
Many and many's the man that has
laid down his life for old Erin. And
the four beautiful green fields that
were taken from her by the stranger
— the four provinces of Ireland. You
remember the very end? The French
are landing at Killala — then Bridget
to Patrick, "Did you see an old woman,
going down the path?" "I did not.
but I saw a young girl and she had
the walk of a queen." But to know.
W. Butler Yeats properly you have to
study and dream over his "Celtic Twi-
light."

* * * * *

WOMEN ARE UNAWARE

rule of the evening

OF

T

'Should Decide for Themselves,'
Lecturer Tells Q. O. R.
Chapter I.O.D.E.

"No matter what a woman's op-
portunities have been, she has truth
within her to guide her own life and
destiny. The destiny of woman is
leadership in ideals, spiritual leader-
ship of men," was the stirring mes-
sage delivered to-day to the mem-
bers of the Queen's Own Rifles
Chapter, I.O.D.E., at the annual
meeting by Mrs. George G. Nasmith
in a lecture on "What Do Women
Know of Women's Tower?" the re-
sult of years of thought, study and
observation in regard to the subject.
Expressing the conviction that wo-
men have no conception of their
own power or its conservation and
development, the lecturer declared
that the place of women is not in
competition with men, and that they
cannot demand anything in the race
of life from men for the reason that
they have their own field- of spiritual
leadership, as has been demonstrated/
all through history. Because of their
high destiny, women should never
preach the doctrine of hate.

Emphasis was laid upon the im-
portance of three-fold development
for women, physical as the founda-
tion for highest moral and spiritual
attainment.

"If women understood their bodies
as they should, and how to rest
them," she said, "if they lived in ac-
cordance with the law of the body,
of life and of God, they would know
not merely enough health and
strength to get through the day's
duties, but life, joyous and abundant.
"When there is no disturbance of the
physical equilibrium, then there is
poise, which tends to the highest
class of morality.

"Women- do not rely upon them-
selves and their own judgment suf-
ficiently, but are too much inclined
to go. outside of themselves for di- j
rection," another view on which Mrs. i
Nasmith laid stress. "Since they have
truth within themselves to discrim-
inate between the false and the true,
they should exercise their own ini-
tiative fearlesslj'."

Every woman, she continued, ,
should have some literary interest |
outside her own domestic or other
/work to k$*$ hor brain alive and
alert. The beauty side of life she I
regarded as essential to spiritual de-
velopment, even if it involved "selling
one of two loaves to buy hvacinths to
feed the soul."

Mrs. George C. Royce, regent of the
Queen's Own Rifles Chapter, who has
been ill all winter, and is leaving this
week with her husband, Lieut. -Col.
Royce, for the south, received a warm
welcome at the meeting and took the
chair. i

No changes were made in the per-
sonnel of th§ executive, the only "an-
nual meeting" feature being the pres-
entation of reports which tola of $500
given to the war memorial fund, knit-
ting and sewing for children between
two and four years old in the preven-
torium, donations of warm clothing to
the Gravenhurst Sanatorium follow-
ing the fire, responses to various ap-
peals, service to the men of the
Queen's Own and their families, and
decoration of graves of members of
the regiment.

Lady Pellatt, the honorary regent,
sent the flowers for the decoration
of the officers mess quarters of the
Q.O.R., in the Armories, where the
meeting took place, and for the at
tractive tea table.

The work of Mrs. Scott T<
Cipal of the Mar^iret Fnt/ l prin "
of Literature and ILml^ Scho ° l
given a pleasing -exposition i0n 'o was
day evening, before an 2? Satur "
interesterl friends ? at tl audien ^ ot
Mrs. Scott R»^»\o^^i^^
destinies of the school wh ir l ^ V\
fered in her style of nWi^V^"
most tutors of expression ™ The 2
her of pupils has been EL num-

recitals of pupils a* ge and the
attracted invar feblv fSSrt^ST
P^ed < M Th S e r V ifC \ Pro^°mmf^n I
kins) "A w V ° U ° f M ^her" (Wii-
55?'' A Woman's Hose" (Thanet)-
two numbers from Kipling- w f'
1 eat is lvric "Th^ c->, 0 V b ' w - B<
on . . \; ' xne fcnaaowv Waters"
and in the second part of *£, '
gramme the Greek drama

Toronto String QuartetteT^fsted.

who played a
"Fire Music."
the Moonlight
Stuart Pigott.

MRS .. SCOTT-RAFF'S RECITAI

Her ^nterrupations of Current Litera-
ture Show Womanly Tenderness,

J T ™' f ^tt-Raf7Tad her annual re-
cital at the Margaret Eaton School of
Literature and Expression last ni^ht
and gathered the usual fashionable
and highly critical and appreciative
audience in the beautiful hall of the
school, Dim lights, reduced almost to
darkness, except on the stage, whJ^h
was chastely decorated, threw out the
figure of the reader in soft relief, and
th<* accessories were all of the most
artistic character. The musical inter-
ludes by Miss Spencer,
transcript of Wagner's
and a movement from
Sonata, and by Robert
were exquisite.

Mrs. Scott- Raff's program was in-
geniously novel. The first section was
a series of "Life Studies" from current
literature. There is a deep vein of
womanly tenderness in Mrs. Scott-
Raff's interpretations, and some of
these studies particularly emphasized
this factor of her work. "Out of the
Dark," Montague's tragic incident of
the borderland, presented a vivid pic-
ture. In the second section, "Lyrics,"
such classics as^ Shelley's "Skylark,"
Browning's ''Evelyn Hope," Tennyson's
"Sisters," and Keats' "La Belle Dame
Sans Merei," were rendered with that
exalted aspiration which distinguishes
Mrs. Scott-Raff's elucidations. Teats'
morality play, "The Hour Glass, " clos-
ed the program, and was given with
the subdued simplicity associated with
the traditions of the new Irish school.
Applause was frequent, but was de-
precated by the reader, who endeavor-
ed to preserve the atmosphere of the
poems presented.

vftCargaret Eaton Schof^^

The work of Mrs. Scott Raff as prin-
cipal of the Margaret Eaton School
of Literature and Expression, was
given a "pleasing exposition on Satur-
day evening, before an audience of
interested friends of the institution.
Mrs. Scott Raff has long directed the
destinies of the school which has dif-
fered in her style of instruction from
most tutors of expression. The num-
ber of pupils has been large and the
recitals of pupils or directress have
attracted invariably a good attend-
ance. Mrs. Raff's programme com-
prised "The Revolt of Mother" (Wil-
kins); "A Woman's Rose" (Thanet);
two numbers from Kipling; W. B.
Yeat's lyric, "The Shadowy Waters,"
and in the second part of the pro-
gramme the Greek drama, "Iphi-
genia," in which the co-operation of
the school players was required. The
Toronto String Quartette assisted.

AS5

A !

E

S

9

Interesting- Presentation of Irish Dra
mas at Margaret Baton School

I The Associate Players of the Mar-
garet Eaton School of Literature and
I Expression appeared, last evening- in
the Greek Theatre in three playlets:
"Hyacinth Halvey," and "The Rising
of the Moon," by Lady Gregory, and
| "Kathleen Ni Houlihan," a play in one
act by William Butler Yeats. These
presentations of Irish dramas which
the Associate Players have made so
interesting are of particular value as
a means of becoming acquainted with
the literary revival in Ireland to-day
through such noted leaders as W. B
Yeats and Lady Gregory. They af-
ford more than a theatrical acquain-
tance with a much misunderstood
national type, for the pens of the
Playwrights have gained inspiration
from close identification with a ereat
cause, and their writings have virility"
and persuasiveness. It is gratifvini-
that the Associate Players have madS
themselves the medium of a hitherto
neglected literature, and their success
in interesting audiences will do i£ UC h
*o encourage further public presTnta
".ons of Irish drama. P'esenta-

"Kathleen Ni Houlihan" was g-iv^n
e most serious attention, for its pi^

' S Y ld D ec,de for The
lecturer Tell

Uwpter I.O.D.E

" N o matter~^T7
Portunities have k 3 Wom
Within her tT 6en ' sh « h
^tiny ^ ™*> her ovv n

shi P °f men/- ;, SPirItUa!

sa Se delivers ♦ 6 stivr ™
bor 3 of V «™* to-day to th(J

mfiAti^ — : — v&jt, at thA

of

Chapter,

sentation was marked! by sincerity and
good dramatic technique. The com-
pany consisted of the following: Mrs.
Scott Raff, Miss Topiey Thomas, Miss
Macartney, Robert j Stuart Piggott,
Milton Lee. E. E- ' Griffith. V. C.
Keachie, C. P. SpafTord, and W. T.
McBroom.

Kb
\\
th

sui
lat
f t

It * *

Sd J 1 ^ * ^iLw 1 SCant n °tice

sire- Jt l ^ ys ' " T he Lanrl S" 1 1Xttl «

Mrs c "Kathleen vl w ^ rt ' s D *-
^rs. fecott R «en Ni Hollihan," bv

: ^e Bl ^ ce th ' Iecture '- decia
^Petition w fth 1 W ° men iS no <

tor the reason

ra
th

^ey have their own n u

, . r own field of spiritu

'emonstrate
luso.of thej

leadership, as has been n>™

^ • oeen demonstrate

± 1_

thro Uffh h te to7y."T ec «
h'S-h destiny, Cc

SLJL

BS. SCOTT RAFF
GIVES RECITAL

celJent Interpretation of
Interesting Readings.

ITTrM 7tM*^%Cargaret Eaton Sclfij^j*

I

I

Mrs. Scott Raff grave her annual
recital on Saturday evening in the
beautiful hall of the Margaret Eaton
School. The talent of Mrs. Scott
Raff is interpretative rather than
dramatic, and she excels purely as
a reader in bringing 1 out the finer
shades of meaning- in her selections.
It is in such poems as Kipling's "The
Builders" where different characters
are not in evidence, but where the
ideas of the writer are most impor-
tant, that Mrs. Scott Raff shows at
her best. She brings out the full
force of the thought of the Doet* and
her interpretation leaves little to be
desired. She also made an excellent
impression with Octave Thanet' s "A
Woman's Rose/' One of the most
interesting features of the pro-
gramme was W. B. Yeats' ' The Sha-
dowy Waters." The wonderful mys-
tical quality of this little drama
makes it one which can be best ap-
preciated in the study where the
reader has more time to erasn the
evasive fancies. In fact even if an
attempt were made to stage it, only
those who had read it could catch
its full significance. Many of Yeats'
poems seem made for a musical set-
ting, but "The Shadowy Waters/'
more than anv other, could b« best
interpreted by the genius of a com-
poser. In her task of giving it as
a reading, Mrs. Scott Raff showed
ambition and scholarly care. Her
other selections were Marv E. Wil-
kins* "The Revolt of Mother/* proba-
bly one of the finest short stories in
the literature of the United States;
"His Majesty the King," Kipling;
"Wynken, Blynken and Nod," Field;
"The Merman." Arnold; and the
Greek drama, "Tphigenera/* in which
she was assisted by Miss Dora Ma-
voi\ Mr. Basil Morgan and the school
players.

The. Toronto String Quartette gave
several numbers, and this excellent
little organization again demonstrated
that as interpreters of chamber music
the artists have never been surpassed
in Toronto. The purity of their tone
grows almost more striking at each
appearance. They gave a fine ren-
dering of Svensden's "Andantino,"
and in Schumann's "Abendlied," the
viola solo was played with great
by Mr. F. C. Smith. Their
numbers were Raff's "Erklar-
and "Die Muhl."

taste

other

ung"

The work of Mrs. Scott Raft as prin-
cipal of the Margaret Baton School
of Literature and Expression, was
given a pleasing exposition on Satur-
day evening, before an audience of
interested friends of the institution.
Mrs. Scott Raff has long directed the
destinies of the school which has dif-
fered in her style of instruction from
most tutors of expression. The num-
ber of pupils has been large and the
recitals of pupils or directress have
attracted invariably a good attend-
ance. Mrs. Raff's programme com-
prised "The Revolt of Mother" (Wil-
kins); "A Woman's Rose" (Thanet);
two numbers from Kipling; W. B,
Yeat's lyric, "The Shadowy Waters,"
and in the second part of the pro-
gramme the Greek drama, "Iphi-
genia." in which the co-operation of
the school players was required. The
Toronto String Quartette assisted.

MRS. SCOTT RAFF'S KECITAIj.

Mrs. Scott Raff's interpretative re-
cital in the Margaret Eaton School of
Expression last Saturday evening at-
tracted a large and cultured audience,
who gave the artist an enthusiastic
reception. Mrs. Scott Raff is well
known for her painstaking and care-
ful work as head of the Eaton insti-
tution, and her program on this oc-
casion only served to illustrate more
vividly the inimitable powers of one
who aims at elocutionary perfection.
Mrs. Raff's program was well arrang-
ed, and on the whole attractive- Her
initial series of stories comprised "The
Revolt of Mother" ( Wilkins) ; "A Wo-
man's Rose" (Thanet), and two strik-
ing numbers from Kipling's pen. In
W. B. Yeats* dramatic lyric. "The
Shadowy Waters," Mrs. Raff's ability
as an interpreter was demonstrated
in no uncertain manner, the indicental
music suggestive of Forgael's magic
harp being relaistic in its appeal. The
(Toronto String Quartete added to the
1 excellence of the program with a de-
1 licate and beautiful rendering of an
arrangement of Schumann's ''Abend-
lied," in which the viola solo was
played by Mr. Frank Smith with ar-
tistic understanding and velvety qual-
ity of tone. They also produced some
lovely ensemble effects in Svensden's
fascinating andantina, a fact the aud-
ience did not fail to apprecite. warm-
ly. The feature of the second part,
the program was Mrs. Raff's pre-
sentation of the Greek drama "Iphi- |j
geneia," assisted by the school players
and Miss Dora Mavor and Mr. Basii

of

Morgan.

an

It

/ S /JB9o

0

0 I

TOR ONT O SATURDAY NIGH

December 10, I9ia

arhsti

was a

thing

of

great charm of person a nH r " eSt - t eff °, rt - The reader h as
in gs are both il™!;, , gmty oi . soul > and her read -

fhe m^^i,^^ upHfted »e 'on,
•deal. The dainty and ! fi f t,a " d sensation into the
Quartette was ^JbSSfS^A** T ° r0 " tO Stri »*
tly enjoyed h « u WIth the P ro gramm e , and
_l enjoyed by the enthusiastic audience.

was

greai

ECITAL

tatioii of
dings.

her annual

Ing in tne
•g-aret Eaton

Mrs. Scott
ather than
purely as
ut the finer
iv selections-
ipling's "The
t characters
t where the
most impor-
tff shows at
>ut the full
he noet, and

little to be
an excellent
Thanet's "A
}f the most
the pro-
»' * The Sha-
lderful mys-
ittle drama

be best ap-
where the
o srasn the
even if an
tage it, only

could catch
nv of Yeats'

musical set-
,'v Waters.'*
nuUI be. best
s of a corn-
giving- It as
Raff showed

care. Her
Larv E. Wil-
ther;' proba-
3rt stories in
nited States;
Kipling;

Nod," Field:
1; and the
ra," in which
ss Dora Ma-
nd the school

uartette gave
:his excellent
demonstrated
hamber music
een surpassed
of their tone
king at each
e a fine ren-
"Andantino,
jendlied," the
with great
mith. Their
aff's "Erklar-

i

*t work of Mrs boot t ft* ^

eipal of the ^^ ar Spfesaion,
of Literature =>« nti S*

given a. pleasing ex PO ;
Say evening,, before

was

>7it'ion on Satur-
n audience ot
the institution,
interested men OS o MJ ted the

Mrs. Scott RaU hasdo ng
destinies ot the acig instruc tion from
iered in her st^^ g OI , The num-
most tutors i of Ven large and the
l>e r of pupils has direct ress have
Vitals of pupils or _ ai _ ood a ttend-

and

kins; ; ^ " tVmi1 Kipling; w. ^\
t,vo *ia*™-£2* ggSrtB Waters
years lyric. ^ art 0 f the JHrOr

in i 1 }?^""^ ' drama,
gramme the^GjeeK^ co . opera t lon of

l«*^jSS maimers 'Required. S

MRS. SCOTT RAFF'S RECITAL

cital in the M^^niVdav evening at-

^turea audience ,

Mrs

He artist "Si enthusiastic
Scott Raff is well

who gave

reception. and care-

known for »er P Eaton lnstl

ful work as °* m on this oc

tUt1 , 011 ' onlv 5^tom& «"> r6
CaSi mv °the inimrtable powers of one
V \ V n »iins at Elocutionary perfection.
Z h ° »Iff% program was well arrang-
M / S ' Sn fl the whole attractive. Her
ed a nd on the comprised "The

initial series of s ^ 01 ^ r . c 1 ^ v « A W o-
■povoit of Mother ■ (WliKins; , A

(Thanet), and two strik-
Si^Vmbeni from Kipling's pen, <t In
xt- -r vpat«' dramatic l>nc, ±ne
Shadowy Waters," Mrs. Raffs ability
™ interpreter was demonstrated
fn no uncertain manner, the indicental
I Is c Suggestive of Forgael's magic
I SSS feeing relaistic in its appeal. The
I Toronto String Quartete added to the
.excellence of the program with a de-
licate and beautiful rendering of an
I arrangement of Schumann's ;Abend-
Ued ' in which the viola solo was
plaved by Mr. Frank Smith with ar-
tistic understanding and velvety qual-
itv of tone. They also produced some
lovely ensemble effects in Svensden s
fascinating andantina, a fact the aud-
ience did not fail to apprecite warm-
lv The feature of the second part
of the program was Mrs. Raff's pre-
sentation of the Greek drama 'Iphi-
eeneia • assisted by the school players
and Miss Dora Mayor and Mr Basil
Morgan. *f Ijtm

Mrs. Scott-Raff is happy in a large

and appreciative constituency which

last night crowded Margaret Eaton

Hal! to the limit on the occasion of

her recital on Saturday evening. Mrs.

Scott-Raff's method is one that relies^

for its success on the appeal to the

intellect rather than to the senses. At

the same time there is a pleasant and

attractive environment provided in th<

stage decoration, the subdued lighting,

and accessories of music which suggest ]
refinement and the atmosphere of the
soul rather than the body. Mrs. Scott-
Raff's elocution is simple and at times,
even colloquial. The whole object ap-
parently is to concentrate attention
upon the composition rather than the]
reader. Her low sweet voice, with its
minor cadence, while at times pitched'
in prolonged monotone, is cl_
carries well, and the stillness of her]
auditors indicated , the close attention!
with which she held them. Naturally I
her method is better adapted to dldac-
rio verse than to dramatic forms. But|
where tense and profound but restrain-
ed feeling is to be conveyed Mrs. Scott-
Raff's method is obviously impressive.
As it depends upon the repression!
rather than the expression of emotion,
and the indication by indirection rath-
er than by direct revelation of the|
thought or action of the poems she
reads, it is clear that Mrs. Scott- Raff's
performance is not to be judged by
ordinary dramatic standards. In se-
lections from Browning, Tennyson and
Kipling such a poem*: as "The Higher'
Pantheism" yields most to this style
of treatment, and Mrs. Scott- Raff, was
accordingly at her very best in this,
and Kipling's "The Builders" followed
it closely. In "Come Into the Garden,
Maud," the most passional cry per-
haps that Tennyson voiced, Mrs. Scott-
Piaff's subjective manner throws one
back somewhat cold-bloodedly upon the
I lyrical perfection in workmanship of
' the poet, and in the "Ballad of Eastj
j and "West" there could be no greater
I contrast than with the reading in the
ame hall by Mr. Hadley some time

TORONTO SATUR of h tfie same ballad. But the point

nirvt Wh

larti^i? SC °n Raff ' S ' eCitaI 0n Satur day was
|artistic excellence and earnest effort. The

\\ guarantee of her Kjccess.
rea 1 i In her readins, from Maeterlinck s

IS not Whether Mrs. Scott-Raff doe*
not do something else, but Yvhether
she accomplishes what she sets out
do. That there is the germ a'nd per-
haps more than the germ of a new
school of interpretation in her method
I may readily be admitted. The applause
, which greeted her, and the intense in-
terest taken in her work is sufficient

great charm of person and dignity of soul *7nHTiilBiu^Bird ;r ^^i& could have been
■n&s are both impressive and beLrifni ' 1/ ^ Setter than ^ h children's, dialog It
the vulgar atmosnW„ J f beautiful, uplifted j*n* a triumpr of artless, natural sim-
ideal The Z P ! f sta ^ ecraf t .and sensation ? Wcity. Six" , oenes of the ^>lay were
^eai. ihe dainty and refined music of the Toro t r ^ sufflcUnt to convey 2 i n the B * l ~

Quartette was in absn1n\7^ U U ' US1 ? , 01 tne T oronto g ia n mys*^V"conceptiott' of pre-exist
Iwas greatly^j^ '^^1* ^ ™* ** ^

when one lamp is ex;

hted. , Th e
comedy Of tlie scenes arous-
ed considerable laug-hter, altho the re-
straint of Mrs. Scott -Raff's intention
seeks rather for smiles. The chllo
who had to bringr down his parcel of
fi< »Tlatina, whooplng-cougrh o nd nici»«l^s
was too much for even the gravest.

A perfectly enchanting: effect was
obtained at the close of this scene
when the lights were lowered, where
' jLighf* announces, "It la the song
of the mothers coming out to meet
them,*' and Jan Hambourg .played some
music on the violin specially composed
by him for the scene, and accompanied
on the piano. Nothing more beautiful
or more instinct with, . Maeterlinck s-
poetry could be desired. ^
l Mr. Hambourg and Richard Tatter-
sali also gave a sonata for violin and]
kilano by Cesar Franck. The perfect J
e5chibiil.>n of sustained tone which Mn |
Hambourg's lM.wing assures was ex- I
oul^itely evident in the phrases of I
simple melody, dependent so solely on I
subtle color as they did in the allegretto I
and recitations. Mr. Hambourg de- I
SSlined an encore. I

6

AMATEUR GROUPS EVOLVE
LOCAL SC HOOL O F ACTORS

Toronto Now School of Stagecraft Owes Histrionic Development
to Several Leaders Working Along Different Line
— Mrs. Nasmith Contributed Much

FORSYTHE, MITCHELL AND OTHERS HELPED

- last week, somebody remarked to
somebody at a club on the itinerary
next season of the Hart House String
Quartet and said: "Oh, well, Hart
House actors will soon be on the
"road" — meaning a joke. But it was
at once replied seriously: "That's
exactly what it is hoped the Hart
.House players will do."

The new Hart House director's
Identity has been known for some
time, but no announcement of him
can be made for a couple of weeks.
Meanwhile Bertram Forsyth, who for
the past three years has done so
much to create Hart House his
trionic technique, becomes director
of the Margaret Eaton School. The
new temporal theatre of this school
will be what was once Association
Hall, rebuilt as to stage facilities and
capable of a large audience about
half of whom used to be able to see
the stage.

Margaret Eaton School on Bay
street, will shortly be abandoned;
it was doomed to be sold when the
new car lines cut off the vestibule
and half the gallery; besides, it was
already too small, and had carried
out much of the' dream of its true
founder, Mrs. Scott Nasmith, who
got the model for the building in
Greece, and persuaded Timothy
Eaton to reproduce it here.

Career of Mrs. Nasmith
The retirement of Mrs. Nasmith
as active director of the school re-
calls a career — not yet complete— of
Intense idealism in the art of ex-
pression successfully carried out.
airs. Nasmith has a wonderful Irish
enthusiasm. Her father was a circuit
Methodist preacher, who used to hold
revivals; and a Methodist revival
used to be a good school of drama.

The first reading I ever heard Mrs.
Nasmith give was about twenty -
two years ago at the old College of
Music, where she was then principal
of the expression department. She
read scenes from Shakespeare. The
last time I heard her she did a play
\>y St. John Ervine, the Irish dramat-
ist, who lectured through here
-three- or four years ago. Her older
love of Shakespeare seemed to be re-
absorbed into a more practical and
intense love of the modern British
group of play writers— including the
vest known of the Irish group.

Idealism To Pioneer Art

It takes the idealism of some
wcmea ; to have faith in forms ef
Hurt for the purpose of pioneering
them into practice. Mrs. Nasmith has
always been an idealist. TKe Mar-
garet Eaton School was a concrete
expression of this. The passing of
the directorship into other hands
brings out in sharper relief the
courageous idealism of the woman
who made such a school possible.
'From that germ, the first to take
organized life here in the form of a
school, came the later development
of the poetic and aesthetic t)iq e in
jnusic, dancing and physical CU }.

things that could be stretched and

ure.

S^ome y ear* ago the extra
tivities of this school outgrew V"
"building on what was then Norte
street. The eld Y.M.C.A. was taken
jLot a club to include dancing and
"evsa." Instruction, with the old con-

painted and nailed up, there could
arise some play.

Mitchell worked in a poetic at-
mosphere and his play productions
were always poetic and sometimes
spectacular. Then he went to Hart
House and evolved a technical equip-
ment which made the spectacular '
element so much easier; where
lighting and "deus ex machina" and
apron stage and painters' art and
music were always available; and
from that point his play produc-
tion became altogether different. He
put Hart House on the theatrical i
map and left a record of certain
very distinctive and clever produc-
tions in which up to the time he
left there had been small opportun-
ity to develop the technique of pro-
fessional acting.

The Dickens Fellowship were the
earliest group to develop stage craft
centering around stage versions of
Dickens' novels. On the purely
story side those players under the
direction first of the late F. M- Bell-
Smith and Mr. Williamson, later of
Mr. A. J. Rostance, have carried
character acting and costuming to a
high degree of proficiency. The
realism of the people, sometimes
twenty or more distinct varieties, in
some of those plays has been an ob-
ject lesson in one phase of stage
craft to other groups whose reper-
tories are broader.

Forsyth Started School of Drama

But it was a professional theatre
:hat Hart House for amateurs was
::ated to become, and which Bertram
Forsyth has done more than anybody
else to perfect in technique in spite
of many technical obstacles an the
construction of an underground
theatre. How well he has done it U,
thousands know. Hart House, quite 1
apart from any original scheme of |
its founders and syndics, has become 1
a school for actors.

What Forsyth will do in a less
equipped theatre Is yet to be seen.
But he has a genius for adapting
means to an end; a sheer knowledge
of stagecraft; a sense of showman-
ship and a marvelous facility in a
quiet way for producing big results
without lavish material. He has
produced with equal success Greek
tragedies, Gluck's Orfeo, Shakespeare
plays, pantomime, pastorals, myster-
ies, smart modern plays by such
writers as Milne, Dunsany and Sut-
ton Vane, plays involving dance and
music, burlettas and farces and
straight comedies. The technique of
such production, following that of
other people whose earlier efforts
made it possible, has come to mark
this city — with its regular summer
school of drama now in session— -as
a school for actors.

Forsyth has a great capacity for
detail, a practical knowledge of
everything in stage craft from the
prompter's box to the carpenter shop,
from ,the paint room to the ward-
robe. He has a keen sympathy for
pictorial design, for mass and color
in stage compositions, for lighting
effects that can be either bizarre or
a mere glimmer to suggest the out-
lines and background of the picture.
He understands the art of making
the set suit the play and of simple de-
vices, often symbolic, in stead of real-
ism in detail. As much as anything
he has the lyric sense which not onlv
expresses itself in the use he often
makes of incidental music but
most commonly in the lyric quaHtv
of spoken words, which is one of the
Plastic arts of the stage

iMUSlC, wnero buo vy»« — » —

of the expression department, fehe
read scenes from Shakespeare. The
last time I heard her she did a play
hv St. John Ervine, the Irish dramat-
ist who lectured through here
three or four years ago. Her older

best known of the Irish group.
Idealism To Pioneer Art

It takes the idealism of some
women, to have faith in forms of
art for the purpose of pioneering
them into practice. Mrs. Nasmith has
always been an idealist. The Mar-
garet Eaton School was a concrete
expression of this. The passing of
the directorship into other hands
brings out in sharper relief the
courageous idealism of the woman
who made such a school possible.
From that germ, the first to take
organized life here in the form of a
school, came the later development
of the poetic and aesthetic side in
music, dancing and physical^ cul-
ture.

Some years ago the extra Cap-
tivities of this school outgrew tfte
building on what was then Nort
street. The old Y.M.C.A. was taken
tor a club to include dancing and
"cym." instruction, with the old con-
cert hall as an occasional theatre.
Mitchell Featured Little Theatre
In this building Mr. Forsyth from
Hart House will take a fresh start
in his own personal development of
amateur drama. He is already well
known as the second director of Hart
House theatre, Mr. Roy Mitchell hay
ing been the first. Mr. Mitchell
pioneered the little theatre movement
here; outside of the school on Bay
street. Twenty years ago he became
interested in the theatre, just how
nobody seems to know much. About
fifteen years ago, after newspapering
unconventionally in a number of
American cities following a term on
the old Toronto World, he brought
to a focus his love of the unusual.
Mitchell was then, as now, an ardent
theosophist, and from that angle
rather than from the theatre itself
he evolved his passion for little
plays.

Mitchell's Plays

The first plays by Mitchell here
were such as nobody else was putting
on stage; among the best remem-
bered of which were Yeats* "Shadowy
Waters," Noah's Ark miracle play,
Tagore's "Postoffice" and "Chitra,"
"Shadow of the Glen," Maeterlinck's
"Interior," Lady Gregory's "Rising of
the Moon," Synge's "Riders to the
Sea," some old Italian mummers'
plays, and one or two Japanese no-
plays. From this poetic and cosmo-
politan pack of plays Mitchell evolv-
ed stagecraft under the mist primi-
tive conditions. He could contrive a
set for a good play out of as much
Jumber as he could carry up the back
alley stairs in three trips, a pound of
nails, a few yards of brown paper
and a little paint, and a whole lot of
amazing practical ingenuity. By
means of such primitive contrivances
mostly made by his own shirt-sleeves
labor, Mitchell could turn the end of
a big room into a stage, and with his
players trailing through the audience
converted the room into a theatre.
I saw these plays produced from most
of their incorrigible and plastic ele-
ments and know what a genius for
extemporization went into them-
iiow devilishly hard Mitchell labored
under such ingenious conditions and
™ m ^ cases what splendid results
he achieved.

Little Theatre for a Location

He made it evident that the little
theatre anywhere was not a set

cation and T WUh * >~ent E
whe?eht?f a ^ grantee fund; but
wnere half a dozen amateurs— not »i

writers as Milne, Dunsany and Sut-
ton Vane, plays involving dance and
music, burlettas and farces and
straight comedies. The technique of
such production, following that of
other people whose earlier efforts
made it possible, has come to mark
^is.. city~with its Regular summer

everything orafTf^ J f

prompter's box to thV £trnJ C ° m , tbe
from, the paint room £ *hl e \ Sh °P'
robe. He hac, a cUe ward-

Pictorial aeX. for m«L mpat , hy for
in stage comDoaiMiJS**! and color
effects thatTan be eUhe X Hshtins
a mere glimmer to SSfe ?*
Wnes and background of hL e . out -
He understands the art of ^ re -

"«kes of incidental music ^t
most commonly in the lyric qU aMtv
of spoken words, which <1,L JrJ >*t y
Plastic arts of tCstage ° f the

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f REDEEMER
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

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